LENA, IL, April 10, 2020 — Two local businesses are working to help their community during the COVID-19 slowdown, teaming up to produce locally sourced hand sanitizer.

The Lena-made hand sanitizer will debut Friday with a special social distancing-compliant event from 2 – 7 p.m. at the Lena Brewing Company’s taproom, 9416 W. Wagner
Road in Lena.

Growlers will be available for purchase, and can be filled with hand sanitizer. The company’s popular beers also will be available for growler fills and carry-out purchase.
Additional sales events are planned for noon – 5 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.

Lena Brewing Company, which has been brewing craft beer in Lena since 2015, is using Adkins Energy 190-proof ethanol to produce a special run of FDA-grade hand sanitizer to help local first responders and residents avoid the COVID-19 novel coronavirus.

Adkins Energy has produced fuel-grade ethanol and biodiesel from locally-grown corn for more than 15 years. Though precautions around the COVID-19 pandemic, including social distancing, have necessitated a slowdown in production, the plant continues production and sales
of its products.

“We’re focused on our main products, but we have been looking for a way to help out with hand sanitizer since the FDA changed its rules to allow ethanol plants and distilleries to make it,” said Adkins General Manager Ray Baker.

“We’re proud to have two Lena-based companies working together to help the people in our community stay safe and healthy,” Baker said. “Everyone on our team is excited to be a part of this project that benefits our family, friends, and neighbors.”

Lena Brewing Company President Ross Vehmeier, whose business also has been impacted by the statewide stay-at-home order, has reconfigured part of the company’s
production line. The company continues to brew its beers on a limited scale.

“This is an opportunity not just to keep people working, but to make something that will hopefully help people in our community stay healthy,” Vehmeier said. “With Adkins’ help, we’re able to provide hand sanitizer free to first responders and at about our cost for everyone else.”

The Lena Brewing Company – Adkins Energy partnership will make hand sanitizer available through taproom sales only to start.

“We’re inviting everyone who has a Lena Beer Company growler to come and get it filled with hand sanitizer at a very affordable cost this Saturday,” Vehmeier said.

“We’re at the very beginning of this project, and we’re working to make sure people in our community can get this local, low-cost hand sanitizer,” Baker said. “We’re keeping our sales and distribution local – it’s a Lena collaboration, and a way for us to help people through this crisis.”

Click here for a PDF version of this release.

About Adkins Energy
Adkins Energy is a dry mill corn-to-ethanol and biodiesel facility located in northwest Illinois. It is owned by over 275 local investors and Pearl City Elevator, and employs 40 people. Since it started production in 2002, Adkins has processed over 275 million bushels of corn to produce over 750 million gallons of ethanol and over 3.8 million tons of wet and dried distillers’ grains. Adkins Energy also operates a 3-million gallon per year biodiesel facility that is fully integrated into its ethanol operations. For more information, contact Adkins Energy (1-888-ETHANOL) or visit adkinsenergy.com.

About Lena Brewing Company
Lena Brewing Company is nestled among the rolling farm fields near the village of Lena, Illinois, along Highway 20 in Northwest Illinois. Located inside a renovated feed mill building, we are proud to reflect and support the agriculture and industry of our region! All Lena Beer is brewed here on site using our own crafted recipes.

You can find our beer in over 30 counties between Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin. In our taproom, you will find all of your favorite Lena beers as well as an occasional special release or experimental Lena brew.

At Lena Brewing Company, every beer has a story. Some of ours are even true! You Deserve a Lena Beer! For hours and more information you can contact us by phone at 815-369-
2588, email at info@lenabrewing.com or Facebook/lenabrewingcompany.

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